Palmer returns to help Mustangs

News-Times, The (Danbury, CT), Brian Koonz THE NEWS-TIMES

Published
1:00 am EDT, Thursday, June 15, 2006

DANBURY - The hair was a little thicker and a little darker in 1968, but Chris Palmer instantly recognized the football star and student council president from the pages of The Crescent, Immaculate High's yearbook.

"Look at that," Palmer grinned, staring at the reflection of his youth. "Wow, this brings back some memories."

Indeed.

It's been 38 years since Palmer, the quarterbacks coach for the NFL's
Dallas Cowboys
, threw spirals on Southern Boulevard. He was the boy next door - well, actually, he was the boy from the next state over - who never forgot the school that wrote him a lifetime pass to the game he loves.

On Wednesday, the 56-year-old Palmer returned to Immaculate to help raise money for Mustang Valley, a $2.2 million artificial turf field and track oval that will open in October.

"Immaculate has always been a special place for my family. We used to come here from Brewster before I-84 was even open," recalled Palmer, the featured speaker at a two-hour reception at the
Ethan Allen Inn
.

"My father used to drop us off at the train station and then...my brothers and I would take a taxi over and my father would pick us up after practice. My time here was a great experience. It was something I'll cherish for the rest of my life."

When Palmer dropped back at Immaculate, however, he played uphill on the less-than-level Osborne Field.

In four months, the new-look Mustangs will play on arguably the finest Class S facilities in the state.

"It's a very exciting time," Palmer said, after meeting with students for about 30 minutes and taking a tour of the two-week-old work site. "I'm thrilled for the kids here because I think team sports are so important. They're different from other sports.

"We live in a microwave society, an instant society, where we get on the computer and the computer tells us the directions," Palmer added. "With team sports, there are no shortcuts. You have to build it from scratch. You have to work at it. It doesn't happen overnight."

During the early 1970s in Storrs, UConn men's basketball coach
Dee Rowe
often invited Palmer back to his house for lunch. Invariably, a simple sandwich turned into hours of brain-picking and philosophy teaching.

"I just love Chris. He's so hungry for the game," Rowe said. "As long as I've known him, he's had a great passion for the game.

"Last fall, we went to his house after he was done with Houston. He must've had 82 TV sets in his house," Rowe went on. "He had tapes from all over the world. I knew the game wasn't out of him yet."

As a favor, Rowe asked Palmer to review a tape of his grandson, a high school quarterback. But instead of just glancing over the tape, Palmer poured over it.

"He sat there intently and watched it and gave me an honest evaluation of my grandson," Rowe said. "It was a beautiful gesture. I absolutely cherish his friendship.

"Even when he was head coach at Cleveland, he never thought he was bigger than anybody. The game is always what mattered to Chris."

Palmer has spent the last 16 years coaching in the NFL, including his first head coaching job with the Browns from 1999-2000.

This fall will mark his second stint with Dallas head coach
Bill Parcells
. Palmer first worked with Parcells in New England from 1993-96 as the receivers coach and quarterbacks coach.

"When you leave a place, you always hope to leave in good standing. To be able to go back and work for him is a treat for me," Palmer said. "He knows how to win and I think we have a team that has a chance to win.

"It's good to be back with (quarterback Drew) Bledsoe. He's a more mature quarterback than when we first had him in New England."

As for flamboyant and often controversial wide receiver
Terrell Owens
, who joined the Cowboys during the offseason, Palmer declined to comment on him.

Sparano, who coached under Palmer at New Haven, also served as head coach of the
Chargers
from 1994-98.

Pasqualoni grew up in Cheshire and coached at Western Connecticut and Syracuse before joining the Cowboys in 2005 as the tight ends coach.

"When I was the head coach at New Haven (1986-87) and Paul was the head coach at Western Connecticut, we would meet at the
Catholic church
in Cheshire and talk about our games," Palmer said. "Afterward, he'd hop on I-84 and go to Danbury and I'd hop on I-91 and go to New Haven."

These days, Palmer travels on charter jets in the NFL.

But that doesn't mean he's forgotten those early-morning taxi rides from Brewster to Immaculate High.

"It's still a special place with special people. Times really haven't changed all that much," Palmer said. "The classrooms are still pretty much the same.

"It's really the people within the walls that make Immaculate special. You don't need all the latest gadgets. You just need good people and good teachers and good kids."